Tom McBride, head boys basketball coach of the Lake Blue Streaks spoke with Sam Bourquin and Brad Russell to talk about the matchup tonight between his squad and Garfield Heights tonight in the Regionals.

Dru Joyce II, the head coach of the St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish boys' basketball team, spoke with Sam Bourquin to talk about his team as they wrapped up another LeBron James Classic with a win over Warren Harding.

The Tuslaw Mustangs have a new basketball coach in the fold, and that name is a familiar one in local high school basketball circles.

Lynn Wess will now be the head boys' basketball coach of the Mustangs after previously coaching at Coventry High School. Wess joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about his new opportunity and what the Pac-7 is going to be like during the season.

"You're going to see some great high school basketball (in the Pac-7) and the schools and the communites back their kids and their teams, so it'll be a nice 8 team league."

The Massillon Tigers have a new head boys' basketball coach, and he says he's learned a lot in his previous stops on his journey to TigerTown.

Michael Cruz, the new head man for the Tigers joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about what he looks to bring to western Stark County, and some of the great mentors he's had in coaching that got him to this point.

Coach Cruz says he's ready to hit the hardwood.

"I'm very excited and very honored for the opportunity," Cruz said. "I got a chance to talk to the players yesterday, and I'm ready to get on the court and get to work."

Cruz came from Garfield Heights High School, where he worked under Sonny Johnson, one of the better high school coaches in the Cleveland area.

Cruz, 30, has also had stops at Lorain County Community College, UNC-Charlotte, Colerain HS, and most recently Garfield Heights.

He says he learned a lot at Colerain about the high school game and relating to the players.

"It taught me to be patient, it taught me a lot from a schematic standpoint," he said. "I truly believe I was meant to be at Massillon, and I'm just really excited to get started."

Chad Spurgeon was named the coach and he plans on putting his stamp on this program and teach his players the value of hard work and teamwork.

He says he's excited to return to his alma mater and hit the ground running.

"It is fun to take on something like this obviously," Spurgeon said. "The Federal League is a very good public school league, there's a great sense of pride amongst Perry people, I've heard from a lot of the alumni and the people in the town, so I'm excited."

Spurgeon previously coached at New Philadelphia high school for the past six seasons.

The St. Vincent-St Mary Fighting Irish are coming off a big win over Benedictine on Saturday, and will be heading to Columbus looking to capture another state boy's basketball championship.

Head coach of the Irish Dru Joyce II joined the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about his team's mentality heading to the state semifinals and what they've been doing to keep improving all season long.

"The kids are pretty focused, the practices have been good, they understand there's still a lot of work to do and the job's not done," Joyce said.

STVM will play Aiken out of Cincinnati in the state semis in Division II Thursday at 5:15pm. Coach Dru says he sees some similarites between his team and the Aiken squad.

The Wadsworth Lady Grizzlies are making their march to Columbus in hopes of winning a state title this weekend, and it all starts with Reynoldsburg on Friday.

Andy Booth, the head coach of the Lady Grizzlies joined Sam Bourquin to talk about how the young ladies have grown game by game and are focused on one common goal: coming home with a state championship.

"Our kids have been extremely focused, the focus has been there every day in practice, and its translated to the games, so they're not just happy to be there, they want to take it all the way," he said.

He says they'll have a tough task on their hands in the state semifinals against Reynoldsburg.

"They're very athletic and they're very talented, just because you're young doesn't mean your're not a good player, and we have to be prepared Friday night."

Reynoldsburg is a young team with no seniors and a lot of their scoring coming from their sophomores, which Booth says is their main ingredient to success.

The Knights of St. Thomas Aquinas will be competing in the Regional Semis against Oberlin Wednesday night in Canton after a solid regular season and an equally good postseason run, and they're looking for more.

Matt Hackenberg, the head coach of the boys' team at St. Thomas Aquinas joined the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about his squad and how they're playing their best basketball as the high school hoops season winds down.

After winning their fourth straight district title against Tuslaw, Coach Hackenberg said he's proud of his team and the effort they gave.

"I thought that (district title) was the most fulfilling to be able to do it against a Tuslaw team that had the resume and the clout they had attach to the season they were having, so out of all four, that was the sweetest," he said.

He says the three-headed monster of Jacob Paul, Logan Newman, and Gino Pellegrene has been key for them in the postseason and throughout the season, and he knows he'll need them along with the rest of the contributors for the Knights as they try to reach their ultimate goal.

First things first, they have to contend with Oberlin at the Fieldhouse Wednesday evening.

"We took a close look at what Oberlin does, and we've been trying to sharpen up our ballhandling," he says.

There's going to be a big district championship matchup between the Tuslaw Mustangs and the St. Thomas Aquinas Knights at Salem H.S. in Division III Friday and there's a winning streak on the line for one of the area's top teams.

Kevin Lower, the head coach of the undefeated Mustangs joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the matchup and what he sees not only in his club, but in the Knights as well.

"This should be a great game, two programs that have been to the regionals the last few years, hopefully both teams play their best, and the fans get their money's worth," Lower said.

Coach said the Mustangs' (23-0) halfcourt defense needs to be strong, and they need to limit the Knights' points in transition.

Lower says his young men haven't thought about the streak and have the "next game up" mentality which he says is necessary for success.

"Right now we're 3-0 and to be perfect in the tournament it's 8-0 and that's all we're thinking about now."

Two of Stark County's better teams will square off at the Canton Civic Center Thursday for a right to move on in the state tournament.

North Canton Hoover head boy's basketball coach Todd Blackledge joined the Sam Bourquin Show to talk about the Vikings' buying in to the program and playing well at the right time.

"We're excited to play tomorrow night and see if we can earn another 32 minutes," Todd said. "Our chemistry is at our best, our skill level is as good as it's been and our toughness and grit has come to the forefront here in the last couple of weeks."

The Vikings are led by seniors Eli Blackledge (Todd's son) and Nathan Fox, and coach Blackledge says there will be some challenges posed by the tough-minded McKinley Bulldogs on Thursday.

District semifinals are approaching and the undefeated Copley Indians will be preparing to face the Lake Blue Streaks on Thursday.

Mark Dente the head coach of the Indians joined the Sam Bourquin Show Tuesday to talk about Tom McBride's team and what the young men can expect from the Blue Streaks in a couple of days.

"It's a tough district semifinal, no doubt about it," says Dente. "It's going to be a contrast of styles, they're trying to slow the game down, we're trying to speed the game up, so we'll see what happens."

Copley (23-0) feels like they will have to keep Lake in the low 60's in order to have a chance to win at the end, and even though they are undersized, they will get after it with anybody.

Dente says he knows his young men are excited to lace em' up and bring their 'A' game against the Blue Streaks.

"They don't feel pressure, they just want to go out and just keep winning," he says.